my room turned pink. immediately upon arrival, my parents showed me that they had taken the time to fix up my room. the floor was no longer this nasty maroon colored carpet but a pretty bamboo wood and they painted the walls...pink. lol, extremely sweet gesture but it took some getting used to.
the week following my return was spent catching up with friends. literally, i tried to see EVERYONE in one week. i couldn't believe i was finally back in the arms of my beloved friends. but i knew i was becoming a broken and annoying record.
"oh, in europe...."
"in europe they...."
europe this. europe that. i couldn't stop talking about it. although, by this time, many of my friends read my blog and looked at my pictures on facebook so they knew most of what i was talking about but i couldn't stop blabbering on. for instance, the united states needs to learn how to be more eco-friendly. i paid extra money in all three countries for plastic/paper bags whenever i went shopping. and food? i'd forgotten how insanely unhealthy the US was and esp. ny jam-packed was with fast-food places.
truthfully, i knew i was becoming a snob & i did try to hold back as much as i could. to the point that when i was asked about my trip, i'd only reply that 'it was fun'.
eventually the questions dwindled and i fell into an extremely boring schedule. my job hunting was proving to be difficult and since many of my friends were finishing up classes, i sat on my ass at home...doing nothing. gah, i wanted to shoot myself. the boredom was killing. i decided to bike ride.a lot. (LIKE IN EUROPE, i had to say it) but then good ol' june came and it rained 22 of all the days in the month. lucky bored me.
but actually, june wasn't too bad. i saw taylor swift with harold, dave matthews band with my dear AZ friend marie, and got into a free JB show with paula (fate's return). harold threw a 21st bday bash which was really cool. & fota performed a few shows. a crappy weather month but i did have some good days.
it was july that took me by storm...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
the adjusment period.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
one of the easiest & hardest goodbyes i've ever had to make.
the last few weeks spent in dublin were the hardest. you can ask my two closest friends on the trip how i'd basically fallen off the radar. i was spiraling into a dark hole. i had gotten a taste of home when harold visited me and now i missed it more than ever. i cried for days . i spent almost all my time in my room watching movies. i'd even skipped out on days of biking (which i told myself not to do) because i was just so down.
first weekend back from spring break, i spent every night dancing. with some good unmentionable juice in me, i spent hours just dancing into the wee hours of dublin's night. the funniest memory i had was getting on the bus, completely glassy-eyed , going to a bar, going to one club, then running over to another club in the heaviest rain i'd been in, & then dancing to an empty dancefloor. thinking about it, i had more fun doing that than when people actually came. some of those irish guys are too much. then we ran to mcdonalds (which i absolutely DESPISE) and bought food, caught a cab, sat in complete silence, get to my friend's room and sat on the floor eating. lmao. it might not seem funny now, but man...the next day, we were crackin up. we spent 3 nights in a row doing that.
then, for a change, we went to go watch some Gaelic Football. now, what the fuck...that game was intense. i wasn't exactly sure what was going on but basically everything that you couldn't do in regular football (soccer to us), you COULD do in gaelic football. man, those men were beasts.
later that week, we had a 'beauty night' with the nuns who lived below us. it was so cute: manicures, massages, goddess card readings. my goddess card reading was so dead on it scared me. then practically all of the stj girls went into one room, piled all of our make-up into a huge pile and gave each other make-overs.
classes were finishing up & as the last few days rolled around, corners in my heart brightened up. i no longer had a massive paper to do, all my classes were registered for the next fall, a majority of my last few nights were spent packing. i was ready to jump into a plane right then and there. i was DONE with europe.
but on my last full day in dublin, i went to hoath, which is a short train ride from dublin and a small fishing village. i remember the day perfectly. it was sunny with slight wind but still fairly warm. coming out of the train station and finally reaching the wharf, we turned around and looked at the beautiful little bright houses perched up on the mountainous green terrain. the waves danced with the wind and families walked their dogs and old couples sat on the benches overlooking the picturesque view.
i stood there realizing what an epic journey i'd been on. how many other people can say they lived and studied in Europe and not just 1 country but three and all of this in a matter of almost 4 months. 4 MONTHS!? it's still unbelievable to me. i knew God brought me to Hoath on the most beautiful day in Ireland for me to reflect on the gift i was given. i cannot thank Him enough.
that night, we threw a surprise thank-you dinner for our Ireland 'mother', Ann, who was completely in shock. she thought she was just going out for a quiet Friday family dinner. but she said, 'we were family now' and that's just how it went. the night was spent in laughter and a RIDICULOUS amount of food. i mean, hell, it was our last night in dublin! we ate and drank to our hearts desires that by the end of the night, the only thing we could do was sleep and hope to never wake up from this dream come true.
on departure day, it rained as i tried to sell back my bike. the man wasn't there but i wasn't disappointed. i left my bike as a gift for future STJ DTW Dubliners. i hope they enjoy it. we brought down our belongings and i said an almost tearful goodbye to my beautiful room. i hugged camay goodbye, who was getting in a later flight, and crammed into a minibus with 1/2 of the dtw crew. i wanted to cry some more when they began singing 'Molly Malone'. it was the song that began Dublin for us. we unpacked our over-stuffed suitcases from the van and checked in. saying good-bye to our den sister, Claire and Ireland mother, Ann was extremely difficult. it really meant that i was leaving. leaving Ireland for good, leaving EUROPE for good, & leaving the dream behind.
the group sat there knowing that in less than 12 hours we'd be home. our real homes. but also that we'd be leaving a home, too. for someone that had been counting down the days till her return home in such vigor, i was the one who tried not to cry the most (well, as far as i could tell). we boarded the plane and in an hour later, we landed in heathrow and met up with all the rest of the DTW people from the other cohorts. it was really nice seeing people i hadn't seen in 6 weeks and hearing their stories. but almost as quickly, we boarded the plane and the rest is history.
----
approximately 9PM, NYC
JFK International Airport
we touched down and it was the sweetest feeling in the world. everyone on the plane clapped but little did we know the terror had just begun.
we got off the plane and was greeted by an hour-long Customs line. almost as instantly as I was glad to be back, I wanted to be back in Ireland. NYC, i love you...but i don't miss this shit. other foreigners came in Swine-Flu masks, which we never had to deal with before. The whole Swine-Flu thing had all of us scared because we were entering 'sick' territory. but after going through customs & retrieving my two suitcases (which felt like they had gained weight since i last saw em in Dublin), i dragged myself to the gate and saw all the crowd and people hugging and screaming and welcomg back and signs. the most important to me wa seeing my parent's face when they saw me. i felt like crying when my mom and dad hugged me. it had been the longest time EVER that i was away from the both of them. my brother just said 'hey', that was our kinda relationship, lol. the last person from DTW that i actually got to say good-bye to was Alice, and from then...the drive home was almost surreal.
the feeling of being back in NYC was great. seeing my dog, Manny and cuddling with him on the couch that night was wonderful. sharing stories with my parents made me proud. if you asked me if i wanted to do it all over again, i would say FUCK YEAH. but i wouldn't change anything. i have no regrets.
GRAZIE, MERCI, 'TANKS, & THANK YOU.
i cannot wait for the day when i can get off the plane and breathe in your air again.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
knock knock, london's calling.
do you remember, when you were a little kid, all the times you watched a movie and that funny foreign accent had you absolutely intrigued you? now, don't laugh, but the movie that provided that intriguing accent for me was james bond. yes, Mr. double-oh-seven. something about him being a bad-ass international spy with a sexy UK accent. what's even funnier was that the first one i ever saw was 1964's Goldfinger starring Sean Connery. so yes, blame Sir Sean Connery for my love for all things UK.
now my point for bringing that up was that after that film, my head would always turn towards the direction of a scottish/irish/british accent. as if i could really tell the difference at my young, tender age. then harry potter rolled around & bam, instantly in love. all things british became my obsession. my best friend anj & i had our moms planning an actual trip to london together when we got out of high school as a graduation present because we couldn't stop talking about. i was actually going to go but God had other plans for me.
then this opportunity came: going to europe with Camay for an entire semester. this OF COURSE meant i was going to London. if anything had been planned, it was this specific side trip. i had booked tickets way before i was even on a plane to my first city, Rome. Camay's uncle was so kind enough, and i mean like, an unnecessary super kind, to buy our round trip plane tickets to London for our Spring Break. it would be 10 days of absolute GLORY (insert very obnoxious Hallelujah!) so it was settled. way before i even knew what the hell else i was doing in europe, i KNEW i was going to london.
fast-forward to the end of february & in complete secret, harold's sister bought a plane ticket for Harold to come visit me IN LONDON for his 21st birthday. it was hard enough talking to harold because this whole long-distance thing was killing me and putting a serious strain on our relationship, but then to keep this ENORMOUS secret from him was unbearable. when i finally got to share the good news with him, it all seemed to be falling into place. i was going to the country of my childhood dreams, where i could meet rupert grint and we'd fall in love and live happily ever after in a cottage not too far from hogwarts. well, since harold was coming, that last bit couldn't happen but going was such a blessing.
the days leading up to spring break were killer. classes dragged on, i was a lazy bore watching movies when i was tired of exploring for the day, and i realized i was spending way too much money at Penny's (for anyone planning on going to the UK, penny's is the PLACE TO BE for cute, cheap, UK fashion. the brand to look for is 'primark'). but the day it came for me to leave for the airport, my excitement level was non-existant. hah, it's like my body turned the off switch for it.
people saw me dragging my enormous suitcase down the hall wondering where i was going and when i replied, 'London' they were like, 'Oh hey, cool, I'm going with so&so next week. How long you stayin?' I couldn't help but smile and say 'Next Saturday.' Camay and I were the only ones going away for the entire Spring Break.
i blinked and suddenly i was in the glass airport called Heathrow and it was around 11pm. i vaguely remember the moments leading up to seeing Harold outside my gate, but i do remember that i was suddenly nervous. i don't dress up for flights. i never have. but i was kicking myself this time for not putting some effort into my appearance. i mean, helllooo, it's been months since i've seen my own boyfriend! but everything disappeared after that. all thoughts went into happy mode when we walked out of the gate doors and there's my awkward boyfriend holding a sign that said my name. i mean, there was only like 30 people on this flight and only 20 people outside the gate greeting other passengers, but it was the cutest thing.
the rest of the stay was the epitome of relaxation and adventure. harold's hotel was in an area of north london, 30euro/night (SUPER CHEAP). i recommend that if you want to save a buttload of money to get a hotel outside central london and just buy an oystercard (like an even more expensive metrocard because you pay per zone you enter) to travel. the first night we found our way around london with my little london map from my tourist book and headed to see SPRING AWAKENING. met up with camay & stephanie (from DTW Spain). seriously, UKSA changed my life. i don't think i could've appreciated the USSA as much as I did the UK version. even stephanie (who's seen SA over 50 times in different countries) thought the UK cast was the best. we went around after the show & met with some of the actors. & hey! even met someone from harry potter. unfortunately, not rupert grint.
one Easter Sunday, we got in our Easter Sunday best and walked over to the Catholic church nearby for mass then decided to go to Westminster Abbey for their celebration. what an honor. there were hundreds of parishioners packed like sardines inside this church. i did not stay the whole service because i knew Harold was getting restless. but now he can say, 'I celebrated Easter Sunday at Westminster Abbey!' Mind you, hes's not even a practicing Christian and I'm Catholic but God does not discriminate! (Lemme know if I talk about God too much, ok?) Big Ben is pretty awesome. The whole Parliament itself is an architectural insanity. The details of that building is ridonk.
we went to go see the 'famous' & big letdown called London Bridge. The Verrazano is prettier looking than that thing. But it's the Tower Bridge you see in all the pictures. we walked along the beautiful river then came to the Tower Of London, London's most haunted place. Now that was pretty cool. i love old buildings because you walk back into another era when you're inside 'em and this place was no different. Sure, the refreshment stands and little kids running around picking their wedgies only screamed TOURIST but I couldn't leave London without doing it! Then around Sunset we crossed the Tower Bridge. This was where I learned that Harold was afraid of heights, haha.
Buckingham Palace is beautiful! Changing of the Guards was pretty epic but they're not kidding when they say get there early. I mean, you need to camp out there for hours to be in front of those legendary gates for the ceremony.But really? It's just the guards walking back and forth and shaking hands or something to officially 'switch'. It was cool though. Then we walked through the famous St. James Park, so cute. We found our way to Trafalgar Square and climbed up to the lion and whispered my secret to him so that he could hold it forever in London <3. style="font-style: italic;">Broadway (and I've seen a lot of Broadway) West End seems to put on better productions. we had dinner that night with her and her mom and parted ways. it's so cool to be in another country just 'meeting up with friends'. my boyfriend was kinda amazed by it. after another night around the Leicester Square area, I met James McAvoy (Wanted) who was doing a show, as well. what a sweet man. &then spent another day at a vintage magazine shop. that was heaven.
& who could forget Abbey Road! A must for those Beatles fans! We, ironically, got off at the metro stop called St. John's Wood , and walked around till we found the street. To the naked eye, it's obviously just another crosswalk but wow! You knew instantly what it was if you were prepared. Others were taking photos and cars politely waited. I'm sure the smarter drives found ways around Abbey Road to avoid the constant hold-up my rabid fans. Abbey Studios is quite a wonder, too. Many people scribbled love notes, lyrics, and praise for Mr. Lennon & the fellow Beatles. So many countries, so many people. Music reaches all souls.
harold & i couldn't pass up an opportunity to watch some live music in London so we went to this band's (forgot the name at the moment) CD single release show. it was pretty damn cool. it's the same club where coldplay used to play and it's rinky-dink atmosphere showed london at it's super-trendy best. & of course, the London Eye. we ended our trip by going up for a sunset-night ride on this enormous ferris wheel. the entire ride is about 30 minutes and it casts a wonderful view over the Thames river. we ended our last full day together going on this super romantic egg-ride. afterwards, we walked along the river, next to Salvador Dali replicas & the stringed lights turned on, casting a shadow on the river. it was the most amazing trip of my entire life (& harold's too! it was his fist time out of the country).
i know this entry is ridiculous but it's mostly for me. i know i've still forgotten A LOT of things, but i cannot bear it if i forgot it all. so to round up the trip, some other little notes are that fish&chips are amazing, the tube is too expensive, the red phone booths are disgusting, & despite it being a busy BUSY city, it was so romantic.
saying goodbye to Harold was tough, but getting back on the plane to Dublin meant I only had 3 more weeks left. I had to live it up.
Monday, September 7, 2009
fair ol' dublin city
dublin...thinking of you now makes me want to cry. i miss you so much dublin was the most relaxing city out of my whole stay. i went in for 1 class which only demanded a few readings and 1 major paper. i'd spent the rest of my time, shopping, traveling...and more shopping. seriously, i'm not joking folks. dublin had the cheapest (well, maybe next to rome) steals in all my travels. then i spent 2 major weekends of my stay in ireland in other cities: galway, killarney, blarney, cork, drogheda, belfast, & glendalough. woah, reading that now...that's crazy! (it's also cheap). i felt bad that i never went outside of paris (except for disneyland! haha) so i decided i couldn't miss out on this. out of all of them my two favorite have to be galway and belfast. galway, i fell in love with an irishband (reminiscent of the band in ps i love you), had a discussion with an aussie & new zealander, and slept in a hostel with 9 other people in my room all in one night. & i especially loved belfast because it was my only solo-trip & it's ping-pong christianity warfare history is so recent (& is still happening) that i couldn't pass it up. i'm in touch with my religion on a very specific level. i cannot tell you a certain verse or passage in the bible or which prophet is my favorite but i am very religious. the thing about belfast is that it is still divided by catholic and protestant. & i did go see the murals, the wall that separates the two communities, and heard the stories. all of which broke my heart to pieces. i felt like crying on my tour because of the hate these two groups have for each other. in the end, they are both still CHRISTIAN and in the end, God does not hate! so why do they? it was one of the more somber aspects of my travel. now, onto something happy...
within the first few weeks, i decided to buy a bike because, unlike paris & rome, there was no major train system and well...buses & i don't agree with eachother. but i'll give ya one thing: i loved sitting on the top deck of the double-decker bus, right by the front window. you could see the dead bugs from the wind on the glass and we'd occassionally hit the top of a branch from a tree. always delightful. now back to my bike rides...
camay & i rode everywhere. eventually another one of my friends joined us, borrowing a bike for herself. we'd gotten to know the back neighborhoods of dublin, something tourists would never ever get to see. i know we pissed of the locals by riding on the sidewalk or riding too slowly on the street out of caution. we stumbled onto what became our favorite parks and eventually the water. yes! we rode out all the way to find water! you could ride along that strip of path for a good 30-40 minutes before it turned into highway. i could bask in the sun and breeze forever, i think. one day, we even stumbled onto the beach. biking on sand is rough but then we sat and stared at the water, just talking.
that's one of the things i pride myself on doing while i studied abroad. yes, i did my share of 'going out'. i've gotten caught in the rain running from one side of dublin to the other just for a cheaper cab, walked around sketchy roads just for a good 'disco', bought cheap wine for a cheap thrill. but i got to know dublin, truly know it. which is why i truly miss it.
hm, this is a long entry. almost too long. i guess this is what i get for not posting for MONTHS. i'll update on london & my last few weeks in dublin in my next post.
to whoever reads this, thanks. i hope you comment & keep on reading.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
i'm sorry.
i'm sorry i haven't blogged in months. it's been a mix of a hectic and slow summer.
my entries on london, dublin, and back to new yawwk will be up at some point.
find me on facebook to see pictures.
updating FORREAL real soon.
thanks for sticking around.
